Waste water pipes within homes and buildings are exceedingly common. Such waste water pipes are used in conjunction with bathtubs, showers, kitchen sinks and washing machines.
It is common that occasionally a waste water pipe will become clogged with a solid or semi-solid foreign material which causes stoppage of normal flow of water through the pipe. In order to effect normal flow through the pipe, it is necessary to clear the pipe of the stoppage.
In the past there has been available a convenient method of removing such stoppages, and that is of utilizing the pressurized water system of the house or building itself to be directed against the clog within the pipe to effect removing of such. One such device is defined within U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,708, issued Feb. 19, 1974, entitled, "Fluid Flow Director". In order for such a device to be effective it is necessary to close the opening end of the pipe into which the high pressure water is directed in order to prevent the water from taking the path of least resistance and exiting from the same end it enters. This has been found to be achievable by having the water pressure itself expand an elastomeric body into tight contact with the interior wall of the pipe which prevents this backflow of water. Hydraulic pressure is then built up between the device and the clog which hopefully will force the clog along the pipe until the pipe is cleared.
From a manufacturing point of view, in order to minimize expense it is desirable to construct such a device with a minimum of parts and a minimum amount of assembly. The less expensive that a part can be manufactured, the less expensive would be the selling price, therefore, making the part more readily available to a greater number of people.